Witness in murder trial describes discovery of Baby Doe body

FILE - In a Monday, May 22, 2017 file photo, Michael McCarthy watches as jury selection begins for Commonwealth vs. Michael McCarthy, in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. Opening statements in the trial of Michael McCarthy are scheduled Tuesday, May 30, 2017, followed by testimony from the first witnesses. McCarthy is charged with the murder of 2-year-old Bella Bond, whose body washed up on a Boston Harbor island. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File)

BOSTON (AP) — A woman has described for jurors her discovery of the body of a 2-year-old girl who came to be known as Baby Doe in a plastic bag on a Boston beach.

The first witness in Michael McCarthy’s murder trial, Bonnie Flynn, testified Tuesday she cut open the bag and ran for help when she saw the girl’s legs.

Bella Bond was known for months only as Baby Doe as authorities struggled to identify her after her body washed up on a Boston Harbor island in 2015. A composite image of her was shared by millions of people on social media.

During opening statements, McCarthy’s lawyer rejected the prosecution’s claim McCarthy killed the girl because he believed she had become possessed by a demon. He says it was the girl’s mother who wrote about children possessed by demons.